Who is ineligible for a us passport

Of course, you'll need to be able to prove U. Some citizens will find, however, that criminal convictions, child support arrears, and other financial and legal troubles prevent them from obtaining a United States passport. Even age can be a problem.

Minors under 16 years of age are ineligible to get a passport without parental consent. While not all felons are barred from applying for and receiving a passport, there are certain drug charges that can keep you from having your application approved. According to U. Code Classification Table , if you are convicted of a drug-related felony or certain drug-related misdemeanors, you are ineligible to get a passport during the time you are incarcerated as well as during your court-mandated probation period, and can even have an extant passport taken away.

Before you apply for a passport, you must make arrangements in the state where the child support is owed to make the payments; if you have questions about the process or about what is owed, you should contact the nearest child support enforcement agency.

The U. They can help with the alternatives that act as proof of citizenship. Getting all that information right the first time can be a real time-saver. After turning in all the right information and paperwork, it would be awful to be denied because of a missed payment. Worse, you could even submit the wrong amount or pay the total incorrectly. Those could be for faster service or research into your records. Make sure to double check and get those added fees.

Paying with cash? Some places will only take the exact amount, so be sure to remember what fees you might need to pay and come prepared. Unfortunately, that picture needs to follow some strict guidelines. According to Conde Nast Traveler , incorrect passport photos are the most frequent issues with delayed passports. Department of State then your passport application could get denied.

All money has to be paid through the appropriate state agency before you can submit the application. In order to protect children in cases of abduction or custody disputes where noncustodial parents may try to remove them from the country, the Department of State requires both parents to appear in person with the child to apply for a passport.

This applies to all children under the age of 16, who, along with their parents, must show proof of their identification. The Department also deny passports to those declared incompetent by a court or those who are currently in a mental institution. A legal guardian may apply for someone deemed incompetent. The United States denies passports to applicants who have certain types of outstanding federal loans. Applicants who have not repaid loans received from the government for the repatriation or evacuation of the applicant and his children, spouse or other immediate family members from a foreign country to the United States cannot receive passports.

Benjamin Peacock is a Chicago-based writer, specializing in higher education related topics since He has a Masters degree in French literature and a law degree, both from the University of Tennessee. He also volunteers as an ESL teacher for a Chicago-based refugee resettlement agency, and loves watching his students develop linguistic independence.